Monday 4 February 2008 22.32 EST
First published on Monday 4 February 2008 22.32 EST

Iran signalled its ambition to join the elite group of nations in space yesterday by claiming to have reached orbit with a rocket capable of carrying satellites.

In a move that drew criticism from the Bush administration, Iranian television beamed footage of the rocket, called Explorer-1, being fired after Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, gave the launch order. Officials in the control room were heard chanting "God is great" as it lifted off. State TV said the rocket had reached "space", generally defined as 62.5miles above earth.

The launch is a major landmark for Ahmadinejad, who said during a ceremony opening Iran's first space centre: "We need to have an active and influential presence in space. Building and launching a satellite is a very important achievement."

During his visit, he also donned special glasses to view a 3-D film about space.

A White House spokesman, Gordon Johndroe, condemned the test, saying: "It's unfortunate Iran continues to test ballistic missiles. This regime continues to take steps that only further isolate it and the Iranian people from the international community."

The test was a forerunner to the anticipated launch early next year of Iran's first satellite, Omid (Hope), which Iranian scientists have reportedly spent 10 years developing. If it is fired successfully, Iran will become the 11th nation to have its own satellite in orbit since the Soviet Union successfully launched the first in 1957. A satellite jointly developed by Iran and Russia was launched on Russian soil in 2005.

Iran insists the Omid satellite will be used to improve phone and internet services while also monitoring natural disasters. But some analysts say it will also give the Islamic regime the capacity to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are guided using satellite technology.

Bhavini Rama, at the Centre for Defence and International Security Studies, said Tehran had not released enough detail for observers to assess whether Omid could be used for such purposes.

"It's probably going to be an observation satellite and could be used for intelligence purposes," she said. "This is a big step for Iran but it still has a long way to go in terms of catching up with the US and other space powers."